Sweet Grace

Starting "Tot School"

2011-04-10T16:22:00.000-07:00

~G is 31 months and A is 12 months~

I happened across Carissa's blog over at 1+1+1=1 a couple months back and I couldn't believe what I discovered. Simply awesome ideas to do with your tot! Also, feeling a little convicted, I realized I was not taking time out for my beloved children! Life had me so wrapped up in cleaning house, making it to functions, planning dinners and more that I hadn't been taking specific time out of my "busy day" to play and teach my own sons. I loved the idea of "playing with a purpose" while enjoying my babies company. This is a glimpse at some of this past weeks activities and games. So, here we go on an adventure through Tot School!

G learning his letter sounds with the help of Leap Frog Fridge Phonics and A playing with the letters!

A staking his blocks for the first time!

This was one of G's Tot trays for the week. It has three different colored counting bears and he had to sort them into the corresponding colored cups.

A got two of his own colored cups and bears and loved putting them in and pouring them out.

Here is G sorting his bears! He would say the colors as he sorted :)

Of course A had to play with G's counting bears because obviously his weren't fun anymore.

G Putting together a smiley face craft from Oriental Trading Company. He absolutely loves "doing crafts!".

Stacking blocks again.

This is a printable I got from Confessions of a Homeschooler. It went well with our Easter theme for the month. He is putting different colored magnets on the circles. He really enjoyed this.

And little bro had to join in on the magnet fun!

This Easter themed tot tray activity was for G. On every Easter egg is a lowercase letter and in the bunny jar are the matching uppercase tops. He had to match the upper and lowercase letters! G did very well and was extremely proud of himself when he finished!

Concentrating!

Do I even have to explain this one AGAIN!

A stacking his sorting rings! This didn't last very long this week because he was teething and SUPER grouchy!

A LOVES the magnets I have been rotating on the fridge. Here he is playing with his Leap Frog matching vehicles.

Honestly, I LOVED every minute this past week. I actually got down on the FLOOR (I know it's crazy) and played, watched my boys play, and laughed! What a special time this is in there life and mine! I feel so blessed!

Showing off some Fluff ;)

2010-04-09T15:20:00.000-07:00

Hee hee! I just couldn't help it. This diaper addiction I have is getting a little out of control! Here is Asher in some of his newborn diapers...

Asher in his coming home outfit! (Sorry I couldn't figure out how to turn the pic.)

A fitted diaper made by a very nice WAHM! :)

Super cute Bummis Froggy print cover!

Ahhhhh nothing like Bum Genius!

Ha eh eh! Asher's first ever cloth diaper when we got home from the hospital. Thing 1 and

Thing 2.

My new LOVE!

2010-04-06T17:15:00.000-07:00

This is just a quick post as I am making dinner :) but I definitely wanted to share the new love in my life......

Asher Graham born on April 1st (yes I know...April Fools!) at 6:56am weighing in at 7lbs. 10oz. 19 1/2 in. long

I am sooooo in LOVE and in AWE!!!!! I have a squishy newborn :) YEA! I'll try to post more pics later.

35 Weeks Preggo and counting!

2010-02-26T09:28:00.000-08:00

YES! I have only five weeks left to go! Whoo Hoo! At this point I am entering into the "I am done" stage. As you know, I LOVE to cloth diaper Greyson and am so looking forward to CD'ing our new little one. I have finally taken pictures of our newborn stash that I have been working on for a couple of months. It is complete minus two dipes I still have on the way. I will post pics of those when they arrive :) Ok so here it is....

This will most likely be baby's Happy Birthday coming home outfit. I am still experimenting on the different hats and shirts but this is what I have so far. The hats are Gerber and the t-shirt is Carters. The Longies are homemade by a very sweet mama I meet online. She hand knit them with wool yarn that I chose :) So, the longies act as a diaper cover and I do not need a cover besides the wool pants. Wool is my favorite! LOVE these!

Just a pic of the Longies.

2 XS Mother Ease Sandies & 3 XS Bum Genius All In One's

3 Newborn Muttaqin's

24 Newborn Prefolds & 24 Infant Prefolds (these are my "Go To" dipes)

8 Kissaluv's Newborn (I will be using these at night time with a cover over them)

Various pul covers and wool covers ( I actually have more but I am thinking these might be enough)

This is my changing station that my hubby set up for me in my laundry room. This makes to SUPER easy to wash and put away :) This is Greyson's whole stash 1/2 of new babes stash.

This is the baby's changing table in our room for night time changing. Half of the babe's dipes will be kept in here and half in the laundry room.

I absolutely "heart" my newborn stash and can NOT wait to use it! I also have organized babes clothes and Greysons clothes. They will be sharing a closet and dresser until Greyson is old enough to move into a regular bed in the spare room, which will then be his room but that will not be for awhile yet. He is still very comfy in his crib :)

The Pregnant Mind

2010-01-30T07:20:00.000-08:00

I don't know why but my already obsessive planning personality goes into overdrive when I am pregnant. My mind can't stop thinking about the baby, what I need to get done, the diaper stash, the baby clothes, how Greyson is going to handle the new family member, etc., etc., etc. Don't even get me started on the lists upon lists that I have made and are nicely filed in my home management binder...UGH! I just made another list last night as I was waiting for DH to come home. Thirty one weeks preggo and I already have my "what to pack for the hospital" list. Yes, it is a full page long and I haven't even started on the list for "what to pack for the baby". Just to give you an idea this is a list of my lists so far...HA!

~A list of what to get done before baby arrives (washing baby clothes, cooking, cleaning etc.)
~What to purchase before baby arrives
~Things to collect from sister and sister-in law (boppy pillow, swing, etc.)
~What to cook and put in freezer before baby arrives
~What to pack for the hospital
~What to pack for baby for the hospital
~Cloth Diaper stash list

Yup! And I am definitely not even close to being done getting any of those lists finished nor am I done making lists! My hubby just smiles and nods as I talk his ear off telling him all of the wonderful lists I have compiled together. Yes, he thinks I am a little nutty but he lets my temporary insanity run its course with lots of hugs and an occasional, "I love you". :)

Long Absense

2010-01-19T14:39:00.000-08:00

Wow! Has it really been that long since I have blogged? Whoa! Ok, so life in a nutshell...we had major computer problems and thanks to a good friend of ours he has built us a very nice computer that is working much, much better :) Thanks Lance! Also, the best news of the year for us is that we are expecting our 2nd bundle of joy in just a few short months. YEA! No we do not know weather it is a boy/girl. We LOVE to be surprised. It gives me something to look forward to besides the inevitable pain of child labor...ha ha. So April 3rd is the estimated due date. Hence no blogging while I had morning sickness..Yuck! Although, I really was not as sick as I had been with my previous pregnancy. Needless to say I have been hit hard by the nesting bug and have been scouring the Internet for baby diapers, clothes, furniture....anything really and I can't stop thinking BABY. Even though we don't need anything for this new little one its fun to window shop :) So far I have my cloth diaper stash ready for the little one and some of the newborn clothes washed. I have a list that I made about a mile long of things I still need to prep...Hee hee. I'll try to blog more about the end of the pregnancy as time allows.

Gardening & Hiking

2009-07-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

Our garden is finally looking like the real thing! This year we have corn, green beans, peas, about four different kinds of tomatoes, an artichoke, burpless cucumbers, lemon cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, sugar pumpkins, a few carrots, parsley, mint, sage, rosemary, and my personal fav, basil. Whew! I think I am going to try and can my tomatoes for the first time ever and try freezing the rest of the veggies and maybe the herbs. Hubby's mom found us a food saver at the goodwill for $10.00 that works perfectly :) , so we will be using that to vacuum package our veggies. What our garden doesn't provide enough of, I will buy at the local growers markets and pick out some fresh organics. I have just started studying and purchasing organic foods and yes they taste sooooo much better, expensive, but better.

We spent the day yesterday driving up to one of the many lakes we live near and had lunch with my parents and then went on a short hike. Greyson LOVES riding in the backpack on his daddy's shoulders. It was HOT but so worth every drop of sweat. Absolutely gorgeous!

Update on life

2009-07-17T08:23:00.000-07:00

Well, our computer is finally fixed and I am now able to post pics :) Yea!!! Also, we just got back from vacation. We spend four days wheelin on the Rubicon Trail down by South Lake Tahoe, which was absolutly gorgeous!!!! This was our first experience camping with Greyson. The first day or so was a little rough. He didn't take well to not being able to sleep in his own crib and his feeding and meal times were thrown off a tad. But by the end of the trip we were all getting the hang of it, wouldn't you know it :) We rested at home for a day and then went up north to visit my sisters family and their new little bundle of absolute gorgeous joy ;) It was fun to chat with my sister and watch Greyson and his cousins play together. All in all it was a wonderful time had by everyone!

Gabe, Greyson and I at the Rubicon Trail!

Greyson LOVES Wheelin'!

SA-WEET!

Yes this is the trail....and Yes I am driving :)

Beautiful!

My Newest Niece, Reese! Isn't she gorgeous?

My two other gorgeous nieces, Eden (in the front) and Ava!

Crazy Summer!

2009-06-03T09:22:00.000-07:00

Holy Shnickies! What a crazy, busy summer it has been so far. Gabe and I finally finished planting our garden last weekend. We have been busy with yard work, baby showers, gardening, bbq's, funerals :( , birthdays and just "life" in general. Both Gabe's sister and my sister are due to have babies within three weeks of each other in about two weeks or so! Not to mention Gabe has been busy working on the 4 Runner to make it trail worthy so we can take our vacation down on the Rubicon trail at the end of June. Whew! I actually think I love all the chaos! Greyson gave us quite the scare yesterday as he got into the ant poisoning, Terro!!! I completely flipped out. He had it everywhere....all over his face, mouth, clothes, carpet, even on his eye lashes. Immediately poison control was called and they advised me on what to do. Into the shower we both went and I had to try and flush out his eyes for 15 min and rinse out his mouth. Thank God Terro is more of an irritant then poison to humans. So, with a lot of prayers, tears, and snuggling we were able to get through the day without any trips to the hospital :)

Sniffles & Bread

2009-04-10T09:26:00.000-07:00

We are just about over the sniffles. Gabe and I have had a cold for about a week and Greyson has had it for almost two. Poor little guy. We went and got a cold mist humidifier last weekend and I have been running it every night in the nursery for him. I think he is on the mend though.

On a completely different subject, I have finally found a whole wheat bread recipe that hubby and I both love. The only difference is that I have subtracted one cup of whole wheat flour and have replaced it with white flour. If you would like this yummy recipe click here. It is a recipe by Crystal Miller who has a website called The Family Homestead and let me tell you she has some yummy, easy to prepare meals on her site. Hubby has enjoyed every single meal I have made from her site :) I have made the bread in the oven and I have tried it in my new bread machine. We have enjoyed it both ways, but I need to do some more research and tweak it just a little bit for the bread machine. It comes out tasting just fine but when cut it becomes really crumbly. I'm still learning how to use my new kitchen toy.

Good Times

2009-03-25T07:05:00.000-07:00

My sister and her two girls came for a visit for the whole week last week. It was soooo nice to be able to spend some time with her and the little ones. It seems funny that I, being the eldest, am constantly asking her, my little sis, for advise on baby stuff. But she is more of an expert than I at this point ;) She has a three year, a one year old and one baking in the oven. We had a nice time visiting and swapping advise and recipes. Now, I have spent the last couple of days trying to catch up around our house. Lots to do! Greyson is still doing an excellent job of going to sleep at 7pm and staying asleep until 5:30-6:30am. Praise the Lord for answered prayers! Yea! Now I feel much better having been able to get some sleep and I have a lot more energy and patients. Well its Greysons breakfast time and I'm off to get him some rice cereal and some sort of fruit. Have a blessed day!

Success!

2009-03-16T09:27:00.000-07:00

Yea! We finally have had two successful nights in a row. Greyson has slept all night long the last two nights in his own room, in his own crib! My sister has helped me immensely. She has helped me get Greyson on a really good eating, sleeping, and nap schedule. This is the schedule we have been using or close to it :)

7:00am~ Wake up time and first nursing of the day
7:15am~ Greyson has a breakfast of rice cereal
9:30am or so~Takes a nap
10:30am or so~Nurse
1:30pm~Nurse
Sometime in the afternoon he takes another nap~still working on this part :)
4:30pm~ Nurse
4:45pm~Has dinner--so far he likes squash and green beans (I haven't tried anything else yet)
7:00pm~I have been giving him a little bit of rice cereal, we put on the night time dipe and PJ's and nurse and then somewhere around 7:30pm I put him in his crib and he goes to sleep :) Yea!

Now, typically we probably should be giving him his last nursing at around 10:30pm but he has slept so soundly the last two nights I haven't wanted to wake him up to eat. Maybe he doesn't need this feeding so I will skip it for now unless he protests and needs to eat.
With Greyson going to bed at a descent time, Gabe and I have been able to have a little time to ourselves....I feel like we get to have date night now, HA! It's been really nice to actually be able to sit down and just reconnect with the hubby again. Not to mention I am better rested and have been able to get up and start following my cleaning schedule again. This morning I have already ran a load of laundry, ran a load of dishes, wiped down all kitchen appliances and washer & dryer, and now I am off to make a loaf of bread. Whoooo Hooo. I love being able to get things done around the home :)

Yea Wednesday!

2009-03-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

Yes! We are finally over the sickness that had been going around. I think it was a touch of the flu. I came down with it as well as my father and some friends. Now, I can start enjoying the beautiful sunshine that we have here in the valley! Tonight is Wednesday night and Gabe and I listen to Pastor Jon Courson on the radio. We are studying Revelations! If you would like to study with us here is the web site to log onto it http://www.joncourson.com . What an exciting time we live in today. The coming of Christ is near! I just get so excited to read Revelations and study it, I can't wait! Gabe and I would love to go out to church, but Greyson gets very fussy at that time of night if we are out and about. He needs structure and a schedule. :) So, we are blessed to be able to listen to it on the radio and then we go out to church on Sunday mornings. Have a blessed Wednesday!

Monday Morning

2009-03-02T10:57:00.000-08:00

This weekend was very fun as hubby's family came in from out of town. We had a nice relaxing visit with his parents and sister and it was nice to have a little break from the little one once in a while so I could get a few things done ;) Yea! We took a little trip out to the Butte Creek Mill where I bought some freshly ground whole wheat flour and some old fashioned oats. I love going out to the mill to look around at all of the yummy items they have to purchase at their store. Now I can continue to look for the perfect homemade whole wheat bread recipe I've been searching for. I think I have tried about five different bread recipes so far and have not found a recipe yet that hubby and I both enjoy enough to make it our basic "go to" bread. So, now on to getting some things done around the house....

~Wash Bedding Laundry
~Wipe down all Kitchen Appliances
~Wipe down Washer & Dryer
~Make monthly dinner menu
~Excercise
~Start Roomba in Living Room

Sunny Friday

2009-02-27T09:37:00.000-08:00

What a gorgeous day it is! The sun is shining and the birds are out. I hope spring is on its way! I don't know why but I tend to be more motivated on nice days verses the rainy, cloudy days. There is an extra spring in my step and my smile is bigger. There is lots to be done today as we are having family coming in from out of town to visit this weekend. Oh, by the way, the turkey, stuffing, and gravy all turned out wonderfully last night. Yea! Now there are lots of yummy left overs for the freezer. I also saved the bones to make some healthy homemade turkey noodle soup at a later date. Ok, so on to today's "To Do List"...

~Make Bed
~Tidy Room
~Start the Roomba running in each part of the house (Got to Love the Roomba!!!!)
~Mop Kitchen Floor (After cooking all day yesterday it could use it)
~Quickly dust furniture
~Quick Clean toilets
~Quick Clean Shower
~Wash baby clothes
~Go for a walk ( it is a beautiful day!)
~Baby needs a bath
~Start Turkey Enchiladas later this evening for dinner

That should be enough to start with today. What I don't get done today I will finish tomorrow morning while hubby plays with the baby. :) Have a blessed day!

Thursday Morning

2009-02-26T10:06:00.000-08:00

Well, yesterday proved to be quite productive. Greyson and I went grocery shopping and then came home to put them all away. In the process of dividing where all of the food went I was able to clean out and rearrange two different cupboards! Yeah! Spring cleaning early! Today I plan on roasting a turkey with stuffing and make some gravy and mashed taters to go with it. My parents will be coming over to help us eat the dinner. I am going to go get the stuffing ready right now. Blessings!

Slacking!

2009-02-23T13:53:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am a major Slacker! I have not been blogging at all due to just being completely too busy and too tired :) So, I am going to attempt to get back into the blogging swing of things. Ha! Last weekend we had beautiful weather, right up until last night. Then it decided to just pore down with rain. But, until then it was just gorgeous! We didn't even need coats to go on our outings. Saturday we went to the Outdoor Sportsman's show out at the Expo. Greyson received his first autographed book on Black tail deer hunting and was completely taking in all of the people and sights. Then Sunday was church, which he nearly makes it through an entire service....usually I see his number flash about the last 15 min of the teaching and we have to go get him. He just gets hungry. We finished off the weekend with one of our friends kids having a B-day party at one of the local pizzeria's last night and today it is time to start another week. It was a big day for Greyson as we started him on rice cereal this morning. He did very well and ate the whole bowlful! We will try a little more this evening when hubby gets home. Well that is all I have time for today as I hear Greyson protesting his nap time. Gotta go!

Sunny Thursday

2009-01-29T14:57:00.001-08:00

I have not been able to blog as much as I had hoped lately, but duty calls as I am now a mom :) Greyson is getting better for the most part. He still has occasional problems with the acid reflux but I think we might be on the mend. We are still working on him sleeping in his bassinet by himself and I feel now that I could be going temporarily insane ;)...due to lack of sleep. I actually caved in and took a nap this afternoon while Grey took a nap. Thanks to my mom coming over, I was able to go grocery shopping yesterday and was able to get some laundry done and some bread rising today. This is experiment #3 with the bread baking. We will see how this one turns out. I am really hoping to get the hang of baking my own bread. It will be much more nutritional and probably even cheaper than store bought bread. Well, I've got to go clean the bathrooms before Grey wakes up for the afternoon. Blessings!

Sleep...Ha...Who needs Sleep!

2009-01-21T07:28:00.000-08:00

Well, Greyson is almost 5 months already. I can't believe how the time flies by! For over a month now he has been having issues with GERD which is basically acid reflux. So, needless to say he spits up ALOT and cries frequently because the acid comes up in his esophagus and burns :( At around three months old I had been bringing him into bed with us just because he seemed to be more comforted by being close to mommy and daddy but now that he is on meds for the reflux we have been trying to get him to sleep in his own bassinet again. Ooof! What a task this is! Not to mention he got into a bad habit of "snack nursing" throughout the night. I am still waking up just about every two hours to let him "snack" and change the dipe. I feel as though my nerves are wearing thin as 5 months rolls around with a definite lack of sleep and his only source of food (he is not on a bottle yet). I need some relief!!!!! I pray that the Lord will give me strength and patience to be able to make it through till the little one can sleep on his own at least more than 2 hours at a time. I kind of hoped by this time he would be in his own room. Ha! That is not going to be for a while yet. Sleep...its over rated anyways....right? :)

2009-01-13T09:41:00.000-08:00

I just can't seem to get back in the swing of things. Christmas time really threw me off track and I've been days trying to get my house and schedule back in order. So today I am concentrating on only a couple off things.

To Do List:

~Grocery shopping
~Clean off Kitchen counters
~Pick up misc. items around the house
~Laundry (bedding, towels, diapers)

Probably doesn't seem like much, but Greyson has not been well lately. We finally are trying some medicine to see if he has acid reflux. Yup, apparently babies can get it too! So, this is the first day of the new meds. Hopefully this will stop all the spitting up, hoarseness and crying. Poor little guy :( Ok well off we go a grocery shopping ! Yea! ;)

Shopping Day

2009-01-03T10:30:00.000-08:00

Today Gabe and Greyson are going to be helping me shop today. We have to run out to Costco to stock up on a couple of things that I like to buy in bulk. Olive oil, Vitamin water, and I want to check on some yeast and flour for making my own bread. I tried a whole wheat sourdough starter and made bread from that but I think my starter went bad somehow :(. So I figured maybe, since I am new at bread baking, I would start with an easy recipe. I did a pretty good job if you ask me but the bread was kind of bland. So, back to the recipe books I go to find a bread recipe that hubby and I both like :D Off we go!!!

Playing Catch-Up

2008-12-30T06:54:00.000-08:00

Well, we are back home after spending the Christmas weekend with hubby's family. It was a good time as hubby's Brother made an announcement that him and his girlfriend are now engaged and hubby's Sister made an announcement that her and her husband are expecting their first child! Their were plenty of tears, smiles, hugs and joy this Christmas :) Now it's time to try to get my home back in order. Yesterday was a complete loss as Greyson was extremely fussy and would not allow me to get anything done. He is still not himself. I am debating on calling the doctor's at this point. Anywhoo, lots to do! Lots to clean! Have a blessed day!

Take time for Jesus

2008-12-23T08:09:00.000-08:00

I woke up late this morning, 6:20am, and quickly made hubby some breakfast, packed his lunch and sent him out the door to work. As I started to do some chores around the house a thought came to my mind that I should stop, open up the word of God, and spend some time with Him. Reluctantly, knowing that the little one would be waking at any moment and I would then be really behind on my day, I sat down with my oatmeal and opened the bible. As I started reading Luke the Lord really spoke to my heart. I was reading Luke 10:38-42 (KJV) it says:

"Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus, answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things. But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

Wow! Here I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off just like Martha, trying to get things done and in order and, just like Martha, I feel cumbered. Then Jesus says to me Tawny, Tawny, you are careful and troubled about many things. Yes, the Lord wants me to be able to get my chores done, Yes He wants me to be able to help my husband and raise my child, but even more so, Jesus just wants me (us) to take a break and spend some time with Him. He says that we NEED it. So, as I go about my day today, and every day after, I can thank the Lord for showing me not to be a busy Martha but to be like Mary and take some to sit a Jesus' feet!

Busy Week

2008-12-22T14:25:00.000-08:00

Well it is almost Christmas and as usual I feel like I am unprepared and running around like a chicken with my head cut off! :) There is lots to be done as my family is traveling the day after Christmas to visit hubby's family. Packing, wrapping of presents, last minute shopping :( and not to mention I'm still trying to keep to my house keeping schedule. Busy week indeed!

Am I Really Forgiven?

2008-12-19T08:29:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while, during my walk with the Lord these last 3 years, the question has come to my mind...Am I REALLY Forgiven? For Real? Are you sure God, that you can forgive me of this sin or what about that sin...don't you remember what I did then? As I was reading Luke 7:47, "Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much." This women that I was reading about in Luke (KJV) was indeed a sinner. In Luke 7:37 it says, "And, behold a woman in the city, which was a sinner...". This woman who everyone knew was a sinner and had "MANY" sins, Jesus said "ARE FORGIVEN". It goes on to say in verse 50 "And He said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace." I need to have faith that God has forgiven my sins! At this point in my study another verse came to mind, Psalm 103:12 "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." Wow! How cool is that?! As far as the east is from the west he has thrown, if you would, our sins away. It says in Romans 3:23-25, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." Everyone has sinned and is not worthy of God, but by Jesus dying for sins and by us having faith that Jesus has died for our sins and are forgiven, God shows us grace! Yea! Thank you God! And so back to Luke 7:50, Jesus says that I can "go in peace". :)

Pics of Greyson

2008-12-16T06:37:00.000-08:00

Greyson is almost able to hold himself up! 3 m.

He is such a Mr. Smiley!

Playing with a rattle.

Time for a change.

Cloth Diapers

2008-12-12T07:28:00.000-08:00

I have been inspired! Ha! So, I have been carefully researching and pondering whether or not to start using cloth diapers. We have used disposables up until now and now I feel like I have enough time and energy to use cloth. Cloth diapers have really changed sense our mothers used them. It takes quite a bit of research to find what the differences are and what would suite each person. I have decided to try a couple of different types. First, I ordered some basic pre-fold diapers ( kind of like the ones our moms used to use). These pre-folds require a cover over them and they run anywhere from $3.00-up. The plastic cheapos can be found at Walmart or Target and there are even pretty cotton, hemp, bamboo, wool, covers that are more spendy and come in an array of colors and patterns online. So, I am trying the prefolds with cheapo covers for right now (just in case we don't like em). I also ordered what is called a pocket diaper. They run anywhere from around $10-up and also come in different kinds of material, colors, and patterns. The pocket diaper has a pocket in between the outer liner and the inner liner that hold an absorbent "insert" and there is no folding reqired. You just take out the insert and wash. They are fastened together with Velcro or snaps and make it very easy for babysitters or dads :) to use. I was able to find a 3 pack of Fuzzi Bunz on Ebay of around $12 a piece w/inserts (they are normally around $17.25 or so). There a many more kinds of cloth diapers but for the moment, until we find what we like, we are going to just start with these. I'll let you know how they turn out.

BPA FREE!

2008-12-09T12:29:00.000-08:00

As Greyson is getting ready to start cutting teeth, I have been a little concerned about the chemical BPA found in teethers and bottles. So I decided to do a little bit of research and found two great websites that not only have information on BPA but other concerns parents have about their child's environment. If you would like to look for BPA FREE Products click here or here.

Monday's To Do List

2008-12-08T10:16:00.000-08:00

Lots to do today. I'm actually going to try to get all of this done. Thanks to Candy's blog on housekeeping I have been trying to put together some sort of schedule for my daily routines. I might post that later when I have it complete. But this is just a starter for today. :)

Cleaning:

~Deep clean stove top
~Wash Bedsheets
~Wipe down outside of all appliances
~Focus clean one appliance each week (the Fridge today)

To do List:

~Make Menu for the week
~Make Grocery List
~Package a gift that needs to be mailed
~Work on Christmas Letter
~Go to the Dollar Store
~Go to JC Penny
~Give Greyson a bath

No more sickies!

2008-12-08T09:03:00.000-08:00

Hubby and the little one are feeling much better than they did on Saturday. Praise the Lord! Hubby had a 24 hr flu bug and Greyson is still a little fussy but I finally figured out that he is starting to cut teeth already. He is normally a very happy baby but as of late he has been Mr. Fussy Pots and has been gnawing on his hands and mine. It's hard to believe that he is three months old already and even harder to believe how much he has learned and grown in that amount of time. This last week Greyson has started to sit up and hold his head up by himself with very little assistance. Every day the Lord shows me another miracle through him. I LOVE being a parent!

Sickies

2008-12-06T09:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a very productive day! I was able to get some house cleaning and cooking done but only at the expence of the little one not feeling very well. :( He was pretty lethargic and slept all afternoon and when he was awake he sounded very congested and horse. In fact, last night, he slept for 4 hrs, ate, and then slept another 5 hrs. He has never slept that long! Then this morning hubby woke up with a touch of the flu bug. So he is in bed trying to sleep through it. My poor guys! I just hope we don't keep passing two different sicknesses back and forth. Needless to say we won't be putting up any Christmas decorations today or going Christmas shopping as we had planned. We will be staying at home recovering with some yummy homemade turkey noodle soup. I made a big pot last night and had put the leftovers in the freezer. I pray that the Lord will give me strength and good health to take care of my family.

First Post

2008-12-04T15:12:00.000-08:00

Hello friends and family! This is my first ever blog post. I'm not quite sure what to say but I am sure in the following months I will get used to rambling on about my daily life....and what a blessed life I have! Hubby is working hard today and the little one and I have played with toys, sang our ABC's, counted to 10, and sang a couple of songs. I know, I know he is only 3 months but hey, it's never to early to start! His favorite song is "I've got the joy". He just smiles and laughs and kicks his little legs. He can't seem to get enough. Hopefully soon I will get the hang of this blogging and I will post a picture or two of him. Other than that I have been trying to get some housework done but somebody doesn't like to be by himself in the lest (the little one). So, it has been a little frustrating trying to get anything done. If anyone has any advise I would gladly like to hear it! OK, well I need to go get some dinner started for hubby.